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"AVATAR: COLLECTOR’S EDITION" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ***** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ****1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated PG-13 Studio: 20th Century Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
James Cameron’s record-breaking highest-grossing film of all time finally comes to DVD and Blu-ray loaded with hours of additional features in a special collector’s edition. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a marine whose twin brother is killed in an accident, so he is tapped to help with a science expedition on another world. Using genetically engineered bodies, scientists are able to link their minds with the native people of Pandora known as the Na’vi. However, when he learns the true objective of the mission and what it will do to the Na’vi, he takes matters into his own blue hands.
WHAT I LIKED
My thoughts on “Avatar” the film should not be a surprise to anyone who knows me and my reviews. I thought it was one of the best films of 2009, not necessarily because it told a great or original story, but rather because it was a true theatrical experience. 3D or not, “Avatar” is a fantastic space adventure that brings up images in my mind of the brilliant artwork on the covers of old pulp magazines like “Amazing Stories” and “Astounding Science Fiction.”
But beyond just the excitement surrounding “Avatar” the film, this Blu-ray set is what the fans have been waiting for since the disappointment of the bare bones release this past spring. There’s additional footage to help fill out the story, a whole 16 minutes (which is more than you got from the theatrical re-release this fall). Sure, it’s not critical information, but it doesn’t seem out of place, either.
Ultimately, “Avatar” on Blu-ray is a great reference disc to have so you can show other people how gorgeous 1080p can look. Personally, I have pulled this movie out on several occasions to show off my HDTV and then compare it to the DVD as well. The fascination with “Avatar” does not end in the IMAX theater row, but can be realized as good as it can get in your home theater system.
And this three-disc Blu-ray or DVD set is definitely worth the affordable price, considering all the additional bonus material that you get with it.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There really isn’t much I didn’t like about this release, aside from the fact that a commentary track is noticeably absent from the bonus materials.
Sure, you can complain about the preachy environmental message, the wooden acting of Sam Worthington or the “Pocahontas” rehashed storyline, but those are all forgivable considering what bloody good fun “Avatar” is to watch.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
First, let’s just quote some numbers off the cover box.... 8 hours of new material, including 45 minutes of deleted scenes. This alone makes up for the sparse release that we got in April (which everyone knew was just there to sell a lot of copies, leaving the loaded set for the collectors around Christmas).
The first disc includes several versions of the film: the theatrical cut, the collector’s extended cut (with 16 more minutes) and the special edition re-release cut (with 8 more minutes). There’s also an optional “Family Audio Track” for the theatrical release, which cleans up the language so as to not offend the “PG-13 is too racy for me” crowd.
The second disc, labeled “Filmmakers’ Journey” includes a whole slate of deleted scenes, production materials, “A Message from Pandora” bit and a feature-length documentary “Capturing Avatar,” which brings the viewer through the genesis of the computer generated imagery.
Disc three, cheekily labeled “Pandora’s Box” includes 17 of production featurettes that take you beyond the motion-capture process from disc two, including looks at the scoring, the use of the 3D Fusion camera system and the stunts, plus multi-angle analyses and deconstruction of scenes in different stages of production, and the “Avatar Archives,” which contains hundreds of images.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of “Avatar” and James Cameron, and anyone who has been living in a cave for the past year.
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"OCEAN’S 11" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on Blu-ray November 9 Official Warner Bros. Blu-ray site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the classic Rat Pack flick, Frank Sinatra is Danny Ocean, who is planning the ultimate heist in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve. With ten other partners in crime, Danny hatches an elaborate scheme to rob the casinos blind and roll out of town with the loot.
WHAT I LIKED
For fans of anyone in the Rat Pack, this film is a joy. While there were many Rat Pack movies made, this is probably the one that lives on the most. It has all the big stars, and it was a huge production for its day. Watching “Ocean’s 11” is like actually visiting Vegas now and watching a Rat Pack revival on stage... only these guys are the real thing.
And if you happen to be someone from the younger (or younger-ish) generation who grew up with the Brat Pack rather than its namesake, it’s still fun to watch. This works not just because it’s a classic film with plenty of spunk, but also because it’s a neat way to see where Steven Soderbergh’s remake and subsequent films came from.
Things are very different now, but it’s neat to see who was the George Clooney of the early 1960s and how much his influence ran. Like I said, this film has spunk, and that’s something you don’t seen all that often in movies nowadays.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I can get into films of almost any era, but the films of the 1960s just don’t click with me on the whole. “Ocean’s 11” isn’t as out-there to me as something like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” or the original adaptation of “Casino Royale,” but it still revels in a day that is lost on me.
Plus, during this time (and up until the 1980s, frankly), movies really worked hard to jam an irrelevant musical number into the mix. With all the crooners in this film, it’s not unexpected to find some songs. And while Sammy Davis Jr.’s rendition of “EO11” is a neat little ditty, it sort of sits there like a lump in the film.
Finally, anyone who has been to Vegas recently will immediately recognize this film as being part of the old Vegas heyday. This was when Vegas was jazzy, but not too loud. It was still a vacation stop, but it was lower key. To some, this may look cheap, but it’s a realistic representation of the town in its Rat Pack glory days.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray looks decent, though it suffers from the same thing many films of its era does... and that’s the fact that we end up with high definition grain in 1080p. That’s really a result of when it was shot and the film stock used. But it looks good on the big screen, at least.
Features include commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr. and Angie Dickinson as well as an interactive map detailing “Las Vegas Then and Now.” There’s some nostalgia spots on the casinos of the old days, the theatrical trailer and a clip from “The Tonight Show” in which Frank Sinatra guest hosts and chats with Angie Dickinson about how the flick ended.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Rat pack fans and those who want to see where “Oceans Eleven,” “Oceans Twelve” and “Oceans Thirteen” came from.
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"MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on Blu-ray November 16 Official Warner Bros. Blu-ray site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The true story of how Fletcher Christian led a ship of overworked and abused sailors in mutiny against Captain Bligh while on a mission for the British Navy gets its first big screen treatment. Clark Gable plays the heroic Christian who tries to keep the men’s spirits up under Bligh’s oppressive leadership. The film won seven Academy Awards in 1935, including Best Picture.
WHAT I LIKED
If ever there was a classic “based on a true story” story, this is it. Such a fantastic tale that includes adventure and peril on the high seas. And it also includes beautiful women in a tropical paradise. More than a Hollywood history lesson, “Mutiny on the Bounty” is a timeless tale that has you rooting for the underdog, who happens to appear on both sides of the fight.
Considering how old this film is, one might expect it to be lost at sea while viewing it in the modern age. But like many other classics, it lives beyond its 65 years to be a film that is watchable and exciting today. A lot of this is due to the fact that this film was made on a massive budget for its time, allowing it to tell its story aboard a real ship (at times at least) and with impressive production value.
There are some fantastic performances in this film, mostly led by Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh. Clark Gable does a fine job in his role too, but it’s Laughton who manages to make you hate him but also have sympathy for him when he and his loyalists are put to sea.
In addition to the film itself, “Mutiny on the Bounty” has been given the Blu-ray book treatment by Warner Bros., which presents the film in a Blu-ray box-sized book that includes 32 pages of pictures and information. These are great releases for any fan of the films.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The only problem I have with this presentation is not fixable really. The fact is that “Mutiny on the Bounty” was shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which was typical for the time. This aspect ratio is preserved on the Blu-ray, which vertically letterboxes the picture on a 16x9 television. I just hope that anyone buying this Blu-ray understands what the hell an aspect ratio is and doesn’t stretch the picture just to have it fill the screen.
Like I said, this is nothing against the film or presentation itself, but more against aspect ratio idiocy that runs rampant in this country.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Along with the slick aforementioned Blu-ray book presentation, “Mutiny on the Bounty” includes theatrical trailers of the 1935 and 1962 versions of the film. There’s also the 1935 short film “Pitcairn Island Today,” which examines the final destination of Fletcher Christian and his crew. Finally, there’s an oddly amateurish newsreel splice in which the producer accepts his Academy Award in 1935.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Old movie fans who know how to set the proper aspect ratio on their HDTVs.
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"LENNON NAKED" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD November 23 Official BBC America site Studio: BBC Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Everybody knows the Beatles, and everybody knows that the group fractured in the 1970s. This BBC film tells the story of how that happened from the inside perspective of John Lennon. Christopher Eccleston plays the Liverpool native who made it big, portraying the tumultuous time in the group from 1964 until 1971.
WHAT I LIKED
On the whole, the casting of this movie was fantastic, led by Eccleston who does a great John Lennon. This is a bit of a slippery slope when a film is made with so many iconic characters. For the most part, the performances seem natural.
Coming at this from the perspective of not being a Beatles fan, I appreciated the fact that this wasn’t a glorification of John Lennon. It chose to show him in a very unflattering light. This is not a John Lennon obsessed with peace, love and happiness. This is a celebrity in mid-implosion where fame has completely gone to his head.
Similarly, “Lennon Naked” gives a relatively balanced view of Yoko Ono, who has been demonized in modern media almost to the degree of Adolf Hitler. In this film, Yoko is not shown as a predator attempting to break up the group and get into a power struggle with Lennon’s mates. Rather, she’s his muse, which he found completely on his own and became obsessed with.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
It had been said many times before, but it was Quentin Tarantino who said via the “Pulp Fiction” script that you’re either an Elvis man or a Beatles man. Personally, I am an Elvis man all the way, so a look at the life of John Lennon is not the beginning and the end of music history.
Even though the performances are good, it is hard to play such recognizable and iconic characters without sounding like Dana Carvey in a run-of-the-mill “Saturday Night Live” sketch. The same would happen with any film about John Wayne, Ronald Reagan or Jack Nicholson.
While the movie shows the life of Lennon at the height of his popularity (approaching that of Jesus, he famously said), it does seem rather aimless. Still, Lennon’s life was aimless between ’64 and ’71, so I can forgive that.
Finally, I know the movie’s title is “Lennon Naked”... but do we really need to see that much of Lennon naked?
DVD FEATURES
There are no special features on this disc.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who just can’t get enough of the Beatles.
